UN chief urges Syria to allow UN chemical probe

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging the Syrian government to respond "promptly and positively" to his request for U.N. experts to investigate an alleged chemical weapons attack this week outside Damascus.

Deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Friday that U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane, who helped negotiate the agreement for the experts to investigate three previous alleged chemical weapons attacks, will arrive in Damascus on Saturday.

Del Buey said the secretary-general believes Syria should agree to an investigation since it has "publicly expressed its own concerns regarding these events."

Syrian anti-government activists accused President Bashar Assad's regime of carrying out a toxic gas attack and have reported death tolls ranging from 136 to 1,300. The government has denied the allegations, saying they are "absolutely baseless."